Red Alert
by DrunkOnJerichohol
Summary: The Shield is in for a weekend of house-sitting, as a favor for Seth's childhood friends during a rare weekend off from the road. A two-story house, set upon acres of vacant farmland, proves to be an unsuspected death trap, as Seth, Dean, and Roman battle against unseen forces to keep everyone safe. Unlikely bonds are formed in the midst of terror, as a battle for life ensues.
1. Are We There Yet?

**Disclaimer**: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Any and all original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

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A/N: This is my first Shield story ever, and I'm crossing my fingers that it's at least decent. I am partial to the Seth/Kaitlyn pairing, so they're a couple in this story. There are also a couple of OC's, which will become obvious once you get into it, but I thought it was worth mentioning. To those of you who take the time out to read this, thank you _so_ much, and I sincerely hope all of you like what I've come up with.

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Seth Rollins was in business.

As it turned out, his business was all about house-sitting for the weekend. The chrome wheels on his coal black Range Rover Sport pivoted around each convoluted bend the rural Iowa roads pitched his way over the course of his travels, but he executed each with impressive precision. The further Seth progressed into the sweeping plains, speckled by rotating wind turbines and unmanned tractor-trailers over continuous stretches of rich farmland, the more frantic the rumbling in his stomach grew. Although not the first time such a favor had been asked of him, there was an inescapable dread that accompanied taking charge of a home that didn't belong to him.

On the high point, however, there was no rule preventing him from selecting a few helpers, and first on his list had been Kaitlyn. It was a given that, as his girlfriend, she would top the list of people Seth wanted to enjoy his weekend with, and she had graciously agreed to be along for the ride. Her pale, emerald eyes trained themselves on a single dejected crow, perched on a power line all by his lonesome as he screeched out a tune only his own ears could pick up on, and she drummed her fingertips on the thigh of her jeans as she lip-synched along with the sultry tune purring in her earbuds, via MP3 player. Seth, as the driver and owner of the vehicle, had placed himself in charge of the song selection to accompany their trip, and he wasn't open to taking requests, so Kaitlyn found separate means of satisfying her eclectic musical tastes.

In the backseat, Roman balled up his sweatshirt and tucked it in the space between the back of his head and the headrest, using it as a makeshift pillow. Rolling his narrowed eyes before training them on the passing scenery, he muttered, "How did I get dragged into this?"

Seth's raven eyes flickered with humor as he trained them on his rather ornery friend, slouched in the backseat. Roman had been Seth's second choice to accompany him on the trip, and, rounding out the group was Dean, head nodded off against the window as he slept the bulk of the car ride away. Wanting to give Roman some glimmer of hope, Seth reminded, "There will be girls there. _Hot_ girls."

"Who's hot?" Kaitlyn cut in, removing a single bud from her inner ear. Seth's eyes flashed again, not having expected that she would be listening in, but he kept his pupils trained on the road. Kaitlyn wasn't the jealous type, but he still didn't enjoy being caught red-handed while discussing other women, even if it _was_ only in passing. Besides, he was only mentioning the girls for Roman as a means of coaxing him into going along with the weekend plans set out before them.

"How the heck could you even hear me if you're supposed to be listening to music?" Seth quizzed. "Do you have a set of bionic ears or something?"

"All women do," she smirked, leaning across the center console to kiss his cheek. Roman groaned in the back, and Kaitlyn shot him a playful glare. Of all Seth's friends, Roman was the most taxing to crack, and somehow that made the arduous challenge more fun. Building a meaningful friendship with Roman gave her a goal to work towards, something tangible to concentrate on, and she was getting closer all the time. "It's not going to be that bad, Roman, we promise. I've met the girls we'll be house-sitting for, and they're cool. They're Seth's friends, and he always chooses cool people for friends, case in point," she smiled, signaling between herself and Roman.

"You're a lot more than a friend to me," Seth challenged.

"Yeah, just trying to make a point, two-tones."

"I could call you the same," he shot back, nodding towards her vibrant blond strands, lined with rich chocolate layers on the outskirts.

"That wouldn't offend me. I love being just like you," Kaitlyn shrugged. She had nearly forgotten the task at hand until Roman cleared his throat, and she found him watching her expectantly. Perhaps he thought more of her opinion than she had previously assumed, but, either way, knowing he held her opinion in high enough regard to actually _want_ to heart it seemed the ultimate sign of progress. "Okay, so, here's what you do, Roman."

"I'm listening," he waved her on.

"When Seth slows down, you make your move. Push your door open, tuck, and roll. The cornfields will break your fall, and you can make your getaway and escape this dreadful weekend."

"Wow, thanks," Roman rolled his eyes. Seth shook his head, chuckling as he glanced back to find a scowl settling in on Roman's face. Kaitlyn readjusted her earbuds and returned to her music, and Seth continued the drive in silence. There wasn't much longer to travel until they would reach their destination and, once they were there, Roman would see it wasn't as bad as he thought. Especially not when they all had each other as company.

_Yep_, Seth thought, sending a final glance in the rearview mirror, _he'll see_.

"Kelly, they're going to be here any minute now!" Lily called out.

She waited at the foot of the stairs for a response, sighing through clenched teeth when Kelly didn't bother to acknowledge her at all. Lily flipped her strawberry blonde locks behind her shoulder and returned to her unofficial post at the living room window, where she stared out through the openings in the blinds, waiting for Seth's car to roll up in the driveway. He was doing her a major favor by agreeing to house-sit, and the least she could do was be fully prepared for his arrival. Since he was bringing some friends along to complete the task, she had made sure the refrigerator and pantry were stocked to the max with all sorts of meals, snacks, and beverages she thought they might like, careful not to include too much junk food. They each had statuesque figures to maintain.

Lily clutched a light sweater in one hand and slipped into it before opening the front door and stepping out onto the wide porch. Dusk was approaching, and she turned her hopeful blue eyes to the matching skies and beheld the mass of color streaks, each blending seamlessly into the next as the sun sank behind a sea of swaying cornstalks. She rubbed the palms of her hands up and down her sweater in an attempt to generate heat, but the chilly weather wasn't the only cause of her goosebumps. The wispy, light hairs on the back of her neck raised at attention as the unsettling feeling that she was being watched settled over her like an itchy blanket. Lily could feel the prickle of each arm hair as they rose one by one, her body's unique reaction to a set of unwelcome eyes lying in wait.

Before her hasty retreat back inside the house could reach completion, Lily raised a hand perpendicular to her forehead to shield the lowering sun from her eyes and squinted in the direction of an approaching vehicle. The car tires kicked up a continuous puff of dust that followed the trail the vehicle made as the unseen occupants were shuttled down the path that would eventually lead them straight to her front door. Only one person driving a black SUV could be coming for her, and an easygoing smile crossed her face knowing Seth was nearby. The creepy sensation of being under surveillance remained with her but suddenly wasn't so bad, knowing she would have a fine group of men entering her home in a matter of seconds. A group of large _and _muscular men who could take charge at a moment's notice.

Before the wheels came to a complete stop, Lily was racing to the driver's side of the vehicle, hair flapping in the wind behind her as she rushed in and tossed her arms around Seth. He was still partially seated in the driver's seat, with his feet grazing the dirt path below, and he laughed into their embrace and kissed the top of her head. "Good to see you, Lil."

"Thank you _so_ much for coming," she greeted. Kaitlyn grinned and waved at Lily from behind Seth's back before exiting the car. She checked the backseat to see how the other guys were doing and found they were almost exactly as she would have expected. Dean was drowsy and in the middle of stretching his previously immobile limbs after enjoying an extended nap, but Roman was sitting idly by, facial features unmoving as he crossed his arms and threw himself an internal pity party. He was always the hardest egg to crack.

Lily backed away to allow Seth room to exit the car, and Kaitlyn came around to pull her into a hug of her own before she disappeared back around to the other side, likely to goad Roman out. Simply getting Roman into the car at the start of the trip had been a feat in and of itself, but luring him out would be a whole different animal. Lily pointed her finger towards him, as Kaitlyn worked tirelessly to convince him they would be able to make the best of their weekend. "I'm surprised you guys were even able to get Roman to come in the first place."

"Yeah," Seth shrugged, lowering his tone. "He's just acting like a baby because he's not getting his way. He wanted us to spend the weekend at his house, playing video games and stuff. It's not every week that we even get weekends off, because we normally have house shows, but this was one of the few times, and you needed a favor, so..."

Lily pouted while simultaneously tossing an arm around Dean's shoulders to greet him as he alighted from the vehicle. "Hey, Dean," she said before turning back to Seth. "Now _I_ feel bad. I didn't mean for you to give up your only weekend just for me. I wouldn't have asked you to house-sit if I had known."

"No, no, it's fine. We wanted to do this for you, and, besides, it's nice for me to visit home, you know?" Seth pointed out. "My parents know I'm in town, so I'm planning on heading over to see them before I leave. You're not putting us out or anything, so don't worry."

"Okay, good," Lily breathed a sigh of relief, swatting Dean's hands away when he attempted to pinch her freckle-specked cheeks.

In times gone by, Dean and Kaitlyn had jumped at the opportunity to meet Seth's friends from home, so they had gotten to know Kelly and Lily quite well, but Roman was a different story. He knew nothing of the girls, and, from the looks of it, didn't want to learn. When Lily's skin began crawling once more, she cut her eyes at the cornfield, searching the surrounding area for intruders, but there was nobody to be seen or heard. Her body was racked by a series of violent shivers, and Seth took notice, leading her by the arm towards the house. "You should go inside if you're cold. Come on," he said.

"No, I'm okay," Lily argued, pointing him in the direction of his friends. "You go take care of Kaitlyn and...that whole situation over there," she finished, spying Kaitlyn tugging on Roman's arm, to no avail. "Geez, why does he hate us so much?"

"Hey, don't say that," Seth shushed her, shaking his head. "This has nothing to do with you or Kelly. Roman is just...you know, he's just himself. He's like this with everyone at first, but once you get to know him, he'll be the best, most loyal friend you've ever had. He doesn't know you or Kel, that's all. He'll love you once he gives you a chance, and I'll see to it that he does."

"I trust you," Lily said, adding, "Besides, any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

By the time Kaitlyn persuaded Roman out of the car, almost solely with the enticing offer of making him a turkey BLT once they got inside the house, only a purple and blue glow remained cast in the sky, as the sun retreated after a hard day's work. Lily disappeared into the kitchen for a few brief minutes after everyone joined her indoors and returned with a tray filled with glasses of ice-cold lemonade and a platter of chocolate chip cookies. Roman's eyes lit up on sight of the snack, and Lily sent him a sly wink before he got down to business and dug in. Perhaps the way to a man's heart really was through his stomach and, if so, she now held the secret that would eventually allow her to win Roman over.

"Where's Kelly?" Seth asked, interrupted by the sound of rushed footsteps bounding down the stairs.

"Did I just hear someone mention my name?" Kelly asked, appearing at the foot of the steps and flashing a winning smile to everyone in the living room.

Her hair fell in deliberate waves past her shoulders, her locks reflecting a shade that matched the color of the cornstalks outside to perfection. Her chocolate brown eyes glowed with excitement, an emotion accentuated by the dimples peeking through the center of each of her cheeks. Her physical appearance was the antithesis of Lily's, but, then again, they weren't related by blood, having only been joined in life as step-sisters. Seth stood, holding his arms out to Kelly, while Kaitlyn grumbled something from the couch about being the only woman who wasn't receiving hugs from her own boyfriend.

"All right, all right, I'll get to you, too," Seth played along, releasing Kelly and pulling Kaitlyn off of the couch and into his awaiting arms. "Women are so hard to please."

"I don't mind," Dean stood. "You chicks can hug me all you want," he offered, holding his hands out and licking his lips in a salacious manner as his eyes flitted from Lily's to Kelly's and back again. "Any takers?"

"They might like you better if you actually spoke to them nicely and didn't refer to them as chicks," Seth cut in, shrugging when Dean met his gaze with a look of incredulity. "Just sayin', man."

"Oh, and since when are you such a gentleman, all prim and proper?" Dean teased.

"My man's _always_ a gentleman," Kaitlyn defended, slipping her arms around his waist and holding him in a side hug. Seth snaked his arms around her shoulders and smirked at Dean, knowing he had gotten the upper hand in the situation. After all, he was the one who had a girlfriend to die for, but that wasn't to say his friends weren't capable of having the same. They just had to learn how to speak the language women wanted to hear, and, apparently, Seth had that skill down pat, based on the girl he had snagged and the endless number of admirers who chased after him on the road each week.

"How do you guys know each other?" Roman spoke up, gesturing with his half-eaten cookie between Seth and the girls.

That single utterance was nearly more than he had spoken during the entire trip, and it gave everyone close to him hope that he would warm up to their weekend goal. Seth was the only one officially getting paid by the girls to keep watch of their house, but he was going to pay his friends back for coming along. He just hadn't settled on precisely what sort of compensation he would offer. Seth opened his mouth to answer the question, but it wasn't until he looked, really paid close attention, that he noticed Roman was waiting on Lily to provide an answer. His eyes were trained on her, but she was staring at her cell phone, engrossed in whichever text message she was in the middle of reading, and hadn't noticed Roman's unwavering gaze.

Still, not wanting to break her concentration, Seth dove in headfirst. "Lily's family was friends with my family growing up. We stumbled across each other by accident when we were little, and the rest was history. There were acres between our houses, 'cause we were both living out in the middle of nowhere, but Lily rode her bike to where I was playing by a pond one day. We were only like 7 or something, she might have still been 6, but we became friends that day, and then our families followed suit."

"Then where do you come in?" Roman asked, pointing at Kelly.

"Oh, well, after Lily's parents divorced, her dad let her mom keep the house since he was moving away to be closer to his family that lives out of state," Kelly explained. "Her mom ended up meeting my dad at work, they hit it off, got married, and we became sisters. We wanted to live on our own after college, so our parents helped us get into this house, but they made us promise to live together, since they don't think it's safe for us to live alone in the open countryside."

"Makes sense," Roman nodded, speaking around a bite of cookie. He chose a glass of lemonade at random and noisily chugged about half of the cool liquid down, swiping the back of his hand across his mouth when finished. A low chuckle escaped Seth at Roman's manners, or lack thereof, and Roman discreetly flipped him the bird before setting his sights back on the girls. Lily had finished up with the message she had been typing out on her phone and was privy to Roman's eyes as they traveled the length of her curves, taking every inch of her in. "How old are you guys?"

"26," Lily answered absently, eyes darting around as a new source of distraction consumed her.

"I'm 25," Kelly followed up, nudging Lily in the arm with her elbow. "Remember when we first met, shortly after our parents got together, and I used to always brag that I was older."

"Yeah," Lily said, clearing her throat, but it was clear her mind was elsewhere. "Maybe we should get going, Kel. Seth, our phone numbers are on that tablet on the table," she pointed, "so if you need us for anything, don't hesitate to call. Ginger and Phoebe are around here somewhere, probably still upstairs, but if you could just make sure to feed them and give them water, they're pretty independent."

"Ginger and Phoebe?" Roman raised an eyebrow.

"Those are their cats," Seth filled in, ignoring the resulting grimace that washed over Roman's face. Roman abhorred almost anything outside of wrestling, eating, and sleeping, and Seth, knowing he wouldn't be thrilled with finding out there would be animals to care for, had smartly left that detail out. "Don't worry, I'll take care of 'em. You guys are mostly just here to keep me company."

"Joy," Roman muttered, sinking into the couch cushions.

"There's food in the fridge if you get hungry, and we've got all sorts of drinks in there, too. I stocked the guestroom with clean sheets and towels, and if there's anything you can't find, check the cabinets in the bathroom, because we put everything we could think of in there. Toothpaste, toilet paper, all that good stuff," Kelly filled in as she reached for her purse and car keys. They had loaded their luggage into their vehicle earlier, which was coming in handy, since they were running late as it was.

"Have fun, wherever you're going," Dean said.

"Thanks," Kelly grinned. "We're staying at a lake house a couple hours from here, just outside of Cedar Rapids. We want to take advantage of what's left of the summer and get in as much swimming and grilling as we can."

"Cool. You should get going before it gets too dark," Seth suggested. "I really wish you guys wouldn't have waited until nighttime to make the drive over, especially when we're this far out in the country, but there's nothing we can do now. At least let me walk you out."

Seth wiggled out from under Kaitlyn and strode to the front door, placing his hand on the door knob. Figuring it was the noble thing to do, Dean rose to his feet as well, planning on walking the girls out with Seth and making sure their trip got off to a safe start. Kelly was only a few paces behind Seth, but Lily remained rooted to her spot, face drained of blood as her knees knocked together and she struggled to hold herself upright on a set of trembling legs. Seth had already tugged the door open, exposing a crack of the deepening dusk just beyond the confines of the front door, but before he could check on Lily, she scurried to the door and slammed it shut, bolting the lock at once.

"What in the world...?" Seth trailed off. He watched her with baffled eyes, frowning as he attempted to make sense of the drastic change in her behavior since he had arrived with his friends in tow. What she managed to croak out next sent chills up Seth's spine, even if he wouldn't have readily admitted it. Lily covered the lock with her hand, face ashen with terror, and spoke with a certainty and succinctness that couldn't be ignored.

"He's out there, and he's going to hurt us."


	2. Toil and Trouble

A/N: Thank you so much to those of you who added this story to your faves/follow list, and also if you added me to your author alerts/favorites. It means a lot that so many of you enjoyed this and, as always, your reviews are incredibly appreciated. Thanks for being so kind.

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A low grumble formed in the deepest pit of Seth's stomach, shooting from his abdomen through his throat, only to leave him entirely and display itself in the form of a heaving belly laugh. Everyone in the room turned to him, frowns engraved in their foreheads, be it in anger or bemusement, but he couldn't help himself. Lily stood before him, face drained of all color, except for the clusters of freckles dotting her cheeks, and Seth could only view her words as something straight out of a bad horror movie. Not even the kind that you sit up and watch with friends so you can find the humor in it. No, this was the kind that made him cringe.

Lily, however, wasn't smiling a single bit. When Seth reached for the front door knob, she flinched and pushed his hand away, turning her back to him as she guarded the handle with more force than she had previously applied to it. This time, both of her hands covered the lever, and Kelly shuffled across the room and came up behind Lily, placing her hands on her sister's shoulders as a means of comfort. The secondary terror in Kelly's eyes read through loud and clear, and it brought Seth's laughter to an abrupt stop, as the room tumbled into a strained block of silence. Perhaps the situation was more serious than he previously anticipated.

"Uh...this isn't a joke?" Seth asked, his voice hitching the tiniest bit on the final word. The tension in Lily's body language made it clear that her words were no joking matter, but Seth couldn't help but ask. The thought of someone taking a trip out in the middle of nowhere, with sole intentions to target the girls, was absurd, and they hadn't made any known enemies that he was aware of. "Did you piss someone off recently?"

"Shh!" Lily brought her index finger to her lips, staining her skin the same plum shade of her lipstick as she motioned towards the lamps. "Turn all the lights off."

"What?" Roman scowled. "Why?"

"So I can look out without being seen!" Lily shot back.

Her hands gained a more noticeable tremor, and her cheeks grew more flushed the longer Roman stared her down without moving. Finally, having enough of the standoff, Dean leaned over and turned the lamp off nearest him. He nudged Roman in the arm and nodded towards the remaining lamp, urging him to do the same. He gave in, but not without grumbling about how preposterous the whole situation was. To be fair, Dean wasn't entirely convinced they were in as much danger as the girls seemed to think, but he was willing to play along if it made them feel better.

If anything, he and Seth could accompany them on the drive to their lake house so they wouldn't be forced to go it alone, and they could drive back later that night or early the next morning and finish watching the house for the weekend. Bathed in total blackness, Kaitlyn released a whooshing breath, her stomach turning in a wave of unease. "Seth..." she trailed off.

"It's okay. I'm right here, babe," he assured, fumbling in the dark for her hand. It took him a while to find her, but when he did, he entwined their fingers and brought her hand to his mouth, pressing a warm kiss to her skin. "We'll be fine. Let's just stay calm and figure out what's going on. Lily, who is it that you think is out there?"

"It's him," she reiterated.

"That's a lot of help," Roman snapped, thankful for the darkness so he could roll his eyes as often as he wished without being penalized for it.

"Try to be nice, man. They're just scared," Seth reminded. Lily tiptoed to the largest window in the living room, which looked out on the dirt road that served as their driveway, and she pulled a single blind down and peeked out of it, only the outline of her head illuminated by the light of the moon.

"I can feel his eyes," she said. "He's definitely out there."

Seth brought Kaitlyn along to the window, keeping his hands on both of her hips as he sneaked a glance through the only blind Lily had pulled down, and he surveyed the surrounding area. His eyes glossed over his vehicle, black paint shining under the light of a pale moon, and he shifted his gaze to the stretch of cornstalks, thought it was a fruitless effort in the dark of night to even attempt to spot anything amiss amongst the sea of them. There was nothing visible that startled him, nor roused his emergency defenses to action, but Lily wasn't one to be easily frazzled, and if she was frightened, there was likely a true source of her fear. Kaitlyn began to fidget in Seth's arms, and he concluded there was a limited amount of time to gain control before Lily's panic would rub off on his girlfriend _and_ Kelly, and then they would all be in a world of trouble.

The women of the house would look to Seth and the rest of the guys for reassurance, so as long as he stayed calm and maintained an air of confidence, they would likely follow and not go off the deep end. There was no obvious immediate threat, so all Seth's efforts would come down to quelling the fears of the girls, regardless of how irrational they might be, and sending them off on their trip as planned. In a house as large as theirs and on an open piece of shadowed land, it was easy to be spooked by the small things, and Seth couldn't honestly say if he lived there he wouldn't run into the same issue. With Kaitlyn's hand still tucked safely in his own, Seth returned to the lamp he had turned off at Lily's request and brought his fingers to the dial.

"Step away from the window, Lil," he ordered.

"Why? Is he out there?" she panicked. "You see him?"

"Shh, you're fine. Everything is fine," he promised. "Just step back so I can turn the lamp back on."

"Then he'll be able to see inside," Lily pointed out.

"Step back," Seth repeated. Though careful to remain kind and understanding, the added base in his voice was meant to show he wasn't playing around. Nobody outside, real or imagined, was going to intimidate him, and especially not within the safety of his own friends' home. Lily must have detected the serious note to his tone, because she stepped back, and the room was once again bathed in light. "All right, girls, take a seat on the couch. Boys, we're going outside to take a look around the yard."

"No!" Lily snapped, rushing to Seth and latching onto his free arm. "Why aren't you listening to me? You can't go out there."

"Okay, I'm really starting to get freaked out," Kaitlyn admitted. The discussion was rapidly approaching the point of no return, so Seth spoke over everyone and took charge. There was a big job ahead, and somebody had to be willing to take the reins.

"Everyone, listen up!" he shouted, with the sole purpose of grasping their attention. When he glanced around the room and was assured his efforts were effective, he started again. "We don't need to get all worked up about anything. It's nighttime, and with this big house and that much free space outside, things are bound to get creepy. I've had that weird feeling of being watched a time or two, but this isn't anything we need to lose our composure over. Lily, do you have a flashlight, or two?"

Lily failed to respond, wrapping her arms around herself and sinking into the couch cushions beside Roman, who remained less than sympathetic. Kaitlyn, identifying with the other woman's fears, took a seat beside Lily and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They huddled together as she turned her attention to Seth, sending him a silent plea to fix all that was broken. Seth had a good track record, so she had no doubts that if anyone could turn a negative situation into a positive, it would be the man she had chosen to spend all of her free time with. Seth wasn't only her rock. He acted as a rock for everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him and, in times like these, it shined right through.

When several seconds passed without a response, Kaitlyn squeezed Lily more tightly. "Hey, Lil, I know this is freaking you out, but Seth's going out to check on things, and we'll see this was all a big misunderstanding. In a few minutes, we'll be laughing at ourselves for being so scared, you'll see. Do you know where there's a flashlight?"

"In...in there," Kelly spoke for her, since Lily had turned into a mute, shivering mess. She pointed into the next room, where the den connected to the kitchen, and Kaitlyn nodded. As much as she didn't want to leave Lily in such a vulnerable state, somebody had to make the first move so they could get the chaos under control.

"I'll go grab it," Kaitlyn offered.

With a final squeeze of Lily's arm, she rose from her seat and slipped into the next room. Seth attempted to peek out of the blinds every so often, but each time he did, Lily sucked in a sharp intake of breath, so he stopped what he was doing. He didn't want to add to her anxiety, even if his actions were no big deal in the scheme of things, so he stepped away from the window and leaned against the back of a recliner chair while he waited on the flashlight to be brought in. Roman was still picking away at the cookies, tuning himself out of what he had deemed a dull conversation overall.

In Kaitlyn's absence, Kelly had taken on the nurturing role and was rubbing Lily's back, trying to get her to snap out of the trance that had taken hold of her. Since she was the safer choice to hold a discussion with, Seth aimed his questions at her. "Has there ever been, like, an intruder or anything here before?"

"Well...no," Kelly shrugged.

Seth tipped his head and waved her on. "You didn't sound too sure. Care to elaborate?"

Kelly gnawed at her bottom lip and regarded Lily with a worrisome glance, as if asking permission for what she was about to divulge. Lily had checked out of her surroundings and was staring off into space, so she opened her mouth to answer, but before a single word could leave her, a piercing scream from the next room cut through the tension like a knife. _Kaitlyn. _Seth was barreling past everyone to get to his girlfriend before the shriek even came to an end, his heart skipping a beat at the sound of her strangled cry for help. Kaitlyn wasn't one to make a scene, and if she was screaming with such intensity, it was because something had terrified her beyond words.

"Kait!" Seth shouted, charging into the kitchen, where a stunned Kaitlyn had dropped the flashlight and a pack of batteries to the floor below. Her mouth hung agape as she pointed at the blind-covered window near the kitchen sink, faced blanched as if she had just seen a ghost. "What happened?"

"Someone is out there," she pointed towards the window. "I saw the shadow of someone walking right past the window. I saw their outline, Seth."

"Okay, all right, let's just all take some deep breaths and calm down," he ordered. "Look, if this is a prowler looking to break in, then he picked the wrong night _and_ the wrong house. He's not getting past me, Roman, or Dean, so let's not go crazy. I want everyone upstairs right now."

"Why?" Roman challenged, frowning as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"If ever there were a time when you shouldn't test me, it would be now," Seth warned. He was always the most laid-back of the group, but when he had his game face on, it showed, and Roman saw plain as day that Seth wasn't someone to be tried or tested. Not with so much at stake. "Guys, take the girls upstairs, get them inside a room, turn the lights off, and lock the door. I'm going to call the police right now."

"I'm sort of losing it," Kelly mumbled, rubbing up and down her own arms after having left a mum Lily in the other room.

"It's okay, we're all fine. Come with me," Dean said. He wrapped a secure arm around Kelly's back and led her towards the living room they came from so he could collect Lily and get them upstairs, all at Seth's behest.

"Thanks, man," Seth called after him.

Roman reluctantly followed their lead and slipped a firm hand around Kaitlyn's wrist to bring her to the designated safety spot of the house. When Seth needed Roman to come through, he did, albeit hesitantly, but the important fact was that he was always there when a situation got down and dirty, and that was why Seth considered him a true confidante. Kaitlyn turned back a final time before being whisked completely out of the room, sending Seth a glance as she sought some form of reassurance. He blew her a kiss, and she managed a lazy smile before he lost sight of her completely.

Left to his own devices in the middle of the kitchen, Seth reached for the cordless phone on the countertop and dialed the emergency number, bringing the phone to his ear and expecting to hear it ringing. Instead, he was met with a silence that spoke volumes. As much as his gut feeling told him the lack of phone service was no coincidence, Seth still made it a point to go into the next room and pick up the cordless phone from the side table sitting adjacent to the couch. Again, he dialed the number for the police and brought the phone to his ear, confirming his worst fear. The phone lines had been cut. Still, this was the age of technology, and if a burglar expected that nobody inside the house would have a cell phone, then they hadn't planned their crime as well as they thought.

_Whoosh!_

A whining drone accompanied the shutting down of all electronics in the home, followed by complete darkness settling in. It only took a few seconds of standing in the newly pitch-black house for Seth to realize what was going on. The person, whoever they were, outside of the house had cut electricity. First, there was nothing to be heard, and then, a chorus of voices all speaking over one another at once, led by Kaitlyn as she called out to Seth from one of the upstairs bedrooms. Seth cringed at each of her cries, because with every repeated sound she made, she alerted the prowler outside as to what area of the house she was in, and the last thing they needed was for him to have a leg up in the situation.

_Clunk-clunk-clunk._

A new sound joined the cacophony of frenzied calls from upstairs, the entire group questioning whether or not he was okay and awaiting his response. It wasn't until Seth slowed his breathing and properly took in his surroundings that he realized he was listening to the dramatic beat of his own pounding heart. Regardless of how afraid he became, there was a roomful of people upstairs depending on him, and he was unwilling to let them down when they needed him most. Drying his sweaty palms on the thighs of his pants, he got down on his hands and knees and felt around on the floor for the forgotten flashlight and batteries that Kaitlyn had dropped, all while his eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness.

It was hard to believe he had just been complimenting the sunset glimmering in the distance and, now, the entire house was so dark he couldn't see even a single foot in front of his own face. Kaitlyn called out to him once more, and he wanted to silence her for safety reasons, but he took care of business first, sliding his hand around the tiled floor until, finally, his fingertips bumped into the plastic side of the flashlight. Beside that, he found the discarded pack of batteries and stood, fumbling his way into the next room, with hands outstretched like a blind person would without a cane. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Seth shushed everyone and spoke in a projected whisper so his words wouldn't be audible from the outside of the house.

"You have to be quiet, guys," he directed. He started to tell them the phone lines and electricity had been cut, but then he imagined the uproar it would cause and chose his words more carefully. Roman and Dean had likely been able to deduce what had happened on their own, but the girls weren't thinking far enough ahead to understand how dire the circumstances had grown. "If there's someone outside, I don't want them to hear any of you."

"Seth, come up here this instant!" Kaitlyn ordered, though she had complied with his instructions and fallen into a whisper herself. "Right now!"

"I'm fine. Just let me put the batteries inside the flashlight," he requested. That was the single task he had to complete before he would be able to join everyone upstairs, but an unpredictable interruption had him rushing blindly for the staircase before he could even place the first battery in its rightful place. The crash of glass echoed throughout the room, and a pile of glinting shards found their final resting place on the living room floor while Seth continued to scurry up the stairs to the darkened destination ahead.

A jagged rock had been launched through the front window.


End file.
